House Says No To Reagan's Speech Plea

June 24, 1986|By KNT News Service

WASHINGTON — President Reagan, in a last-minute attempt to sway Congress on his $100 million request for aid to the Nicaraguan rebels, asked Monday for permission to address the House. He was turned down by Speaker Tip O'Neill.

Presidential spokesman Larry Speakes said Reagan was ''deeply disappointed'' by O'Neill's rejection of the president's request to make a final appeal today before the Democrat-controlled House votes Wednesday on his stalled proposal. Speakes acknowledged that Reagan wanted to bring his case directly to the House because he does not have the votes to win.

Presidential addresses to joint sessions of Congress are fairly common, but speeches to a single house are rare. White House officials cited only six such occurrances, most in times of crisis.

The House parliamentarian's office said the last time a U.S. president addressed the House was Nov. 13, 1968, when Richard Nixon thanked the chamber for a resolution endorsing his Vietnam policy. The parliamentarian said there was no record of how many times a president has been turned down.